Stanton, Buxton lead AL over NL in 9th straight All-Star win
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and Byron Buxton homered back-to-back in the fourth inning to rally the American League over the National League 3-2 in the All-Star Game. It was the AL's ninth straight victory in the Midsummer Classic. Nine-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw got the first start of his career for the NL and pitched one inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Los Angeles two-way star Shohei Ohtani. The NL got a solo shot by Paul Goldschmidt and Dodgers star Mookie Betts had an RBI single in the first. Dodger Stadium hosted the All-Star Game for the first time since 1980.
Shohei Ohtani calls shot — in English — with All-Star hit
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Angels star Shohei Ohtani called his shot before leading off the Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium, telling Fox’s Tom Verducci in the on-deck circle that he was going to jump on Clayton Kershaw quickly. He promised “first pitch, first swing, that's it.” Then he flared a 90.9 mph fastball off the Los Angeles Dodgers ace up the middle for a base hit. Ohtani reached base in both of his plate appearances during the AL’s 3-2 win after drawing a walk in the third inning. He is the fifth starting designated hitter to reach base multiple times in an All-Star Game, joining Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez and Bobby Bonilla.
Clayton Kershaw soaks in All-Star start at Dodger Stadium
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw’s news conference after his first All-Star Game start was nearly over when Blake Grice spoke up. The 10-year-old from Denver said his grandfather was a Dodgers fan and a Redondo Beach native who died of brain cancer. Meeting Kershaw allowed Blake to check off an item on his grandfather’s bucket list. Kershaw smiled and grabbed Blake in a protective hug. Kershaw is reminded of what he means to baseball and to Los Angeles during every start he makes at Dodger Stadium. He serendipitously got his first chance to start an All-Star Game in his home park, and he met the occasion with an eventful, scoreless first inning.
Manfred rejects that minor leaguers not paid living wage
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is defending the sport’s treatment of minor leaguers, prompting immediate criticism from the players’ advocacy group. Manfred says the sport has made “real strides in the last few years in terms of what minor league players are paid.” A minor league advocacy group called Manfred's comments ”callous and false.”
All-Stars showcase modern MLB: HRs, strikeouts, shifts
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The All-Star Game showcased what baseball has become — home runs, strikeouts and offense-killing shifts. The National League didn’t have a hit between the first and eighth innings of Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss, its ninth in a row. Four of the five runs scored on long balls. There were 22 strikeouts, including the final three batters on 10 pitches by Emmanuel Clase in a game that lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes despite just 13 hits, five walks, two hit batters and one runner reaching on a error. Juan Soto, Kyle Schwarber and Jake Cronenworth all hit groundouts that might have been hits if not for shifted infields.
For Ukrainian high jumper, world silver feels like gold
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh delivered good news to her war-torn country with a silver-medal performance at world championships. The 20-year-old cleared 2.02 meters (6 feet, 7 1/2) inches to add the outdoor silver to the indoor title she won in March. That win came shortly after she escaped her hometown of Dnipro, which had come under attack by Russia. Australia’s Eleanor Patterson hit a career high in winning the gold. Mahuchikh is one of 22 Ukrainian athletes in Oregon this week for the championships. All of them have been training far from home — some in Portugal, others in Spain, and Mahuchikh most recently in California after stops in Serbia, Germany and Turkey.
Caster Semenya is back, so is her sport's thorniest problem
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African runner Caster Semenya's surprise return to the world championships this week coincides with a new reckoning over the rules in track and field that regulate the participation of women with high natural testosterone in female events. Semenya is a two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters. She was banned from that event after losing her appeal of a World Athletics regulation that made women with a certain intersex condition ineligible for some races. She is not transgender, but her case carries strong implications for how transgender athletes are treated and classified. The track and field body says it will review both its rules relating to transgender women and the separate issue of women with intersex conditions like Semenya at the end of the year.
Hornets forward Bridges facing 3 domestic violence charges
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges is facing three felony domestic violence charges in Southern California after being accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their two children last month. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said his office filed one felony count of injuring a child’s parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. Bridges is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. Bridges was arrested on June 29 by Los Angeles police.
NASCAR to hit the streets of Chicago with downtown race
CHICAGO (AP) — NASCAR has added its first street course to the Cup schedule with a planned 2023 race through downtown Chicago. The Cup Series will race against the backdrop of Lake Michigan and Grant Park next July 2 in the debut race of a three-year deal with the city of Chicago. The new venue will replace Road America in Wisconsin on next year's schedule. The Chicago race will be paired with an IMSA sports car race the day before, as well as music and entertainment options located along the 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course.
Wightman wins 1500 on night filled with surprises at worlds
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — British 1,500-meter champion Jake Wightman was in disbelief after he crossed the finish line. His face captured the evening best. Nothing quite went to script, yet everything seemed almost perfect on a wild night at the world championships. The in-stadium announcer for Wightman’s race was none other than his dad, Geoff. Almost lost in all those good feelings was that Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway finished second in this one and his countryman, Karsten Warholm, seventh in the night’s last race, the 400-meter hurdles.
